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1.TH EXIM 8
2.SH NAME
3exim \- a Mail Transfer Agent
4.SH SYNOPSIS
5.nf
6.B exim [options] arguments ...
7.B mailq [options] arguments ...
8.B rsmtp [options] arguments ...
9.B rmail [options] arguments ...
10.B runq [options] arguments ...
11.B newaliases [options] arguments ...
12.fi
13.
14.SH DESCRIPTION
15.rs
16.sp
17Exim is a mail transfer agent (MTA) developed at the University of Cambridge.
18It is a large program with very many facilities. For a full specification, see
19the reference manual. This man page contains only a description of the command
20line options. It has been automatically generated from the reference manual
21source, hopefully without too much mangling.
22.P
23Like other MTAs, Exim replaces Sendmail, and is normally called by user agents
24(MUAs) using the path \fI/usr/sbin/sendmail\fP when they submit messages for
25delivery (some operating systems use \fI/usr/lib/sendmail\fP). This path is
26normally set up as a symbolic link to the Exim binary. It may also be used by
27boot scripts to start the Exim daemon. Many of Exim's command line options are
28compatible with Sendmail so that it can act as a drop-in replacement.
29.
30.SH "DEFAULT ACTION"
31.rs
32.sp
33If no options are present that require a specific action (such as starting the
34daemon or a queue runner, testing an address, receiving a message in a specific
35format, or listing the queue), and there are no arguments on the command line,
36Exim outputs a brief message about itself and exits.
37.sp
38However, if there is at least one command line argument, \fB-bm\fR (accept a
39local message on the standard input, with the arguments specifying the
40recipients) is assumed. Thus, for example, if Exim is installed in
41\fI/usr/sbin\fP, you can send a message from the command line like this:
42.sp
43 /usr/sbin/exim -i <recipient-address(es)>
44 <message content, including all the header lines>
45 CTRL-D
46.sp
47The \fB-i\fP option prevents a line containing just a dot from terminating
48the message. Only an end-of-file (generated by typing CTRL-D if the input is
49from a terminal) does so.
50.
51.SH "SETTING OPTIONS BY PROGRAM NAME"
52.rs
53.sp
54If an Exim binary is called using one of the names listed in this section
55(typically via a symbolic link), certain options are assumed.
56.TP
57\fBmailq\fR
58Behave as if the option \fB\-bp\fP were present before any other options.
59The \fB\-bp\fP option requests a listing of the contents of the mail queue
60on the standard output.
61.TP
62\fBrsmtp\fR
63Behaves as if the option \fB\-bS\fP were present before any other options,
64for compatibility with Smail. The \fB\-bS\fP option is used for reading in a
65number of messages in batched SMTP format.
66.TP
67\fBrmail\fR
68Behave as if the \fB\-i\fP and \fB\-oee\fP options were present before
69any other options, for compatibility with Smail. The name \fBrmail\fR is used
70as an interface by some UUCP systems. The \fB\-i\fP option specifies that a
71dot on a line by itself does not terminate a non\-SMTP message; \fB\-oee\fP
72requests that errors detected in non\-SMTP messages be reported by emailing
73the sender.
74.TP
75\fBrunq\fR
76Behave as if the option \fB\-q\fP were present before any other options, for
77compatibility with Smail. The \fB\-q\fP option causes a single queue runner
78process to be started. It processes the queue once, then exits.
79.TP
80\fBnewaliases\fR
81Behave as if the option \fB\-bi\fP were present before any other options,
82for compatibility with Sendmail. This option is used for rebuilding Sendmail's
83alias file. Exim does not have the concept of a single alias file, but can be
84configured to run a specified command if called with the \fB\-bi\fP option.
85.
86.SH "OPTIONS"
87.rs
88.TP 10
89\fB\-\-\fP
90This is a pseudo\-option whose only purpose is to terminate the options and
91therefore to cause subsequent command line items to be treated as arguments
92rather than options, even if they begin with hyphens.
93.TP 10
94\fB\-\-help\fP
95This option causes Exim to output a few sentences stating what it is.
96The same output is generated if the Exim binary is called with no options and
97no arguments.
98.TP 10
99\fB\-\-version\fP
100This option is an alias for \fB\-bV\fP and causes version information to be
101displayed.
102.TP 10
103\fB\-Ac\fP
104\fB\-Am\fP
105These options are used by Sendmail for selecting configuration files and are
106ignored by Exim.
107.TP 10
108\fB\-B\fP<\fItype\fP>
109This is a Sendmail option for selecting 7 or 8 bit processing. Exim is 8\-bit
110clean; it ignores this option.
111.TP 10
112\fB\-bd\fP
113This option runs Exim as a daemon, awaiting incoming SMTP connections. Usually
114the \fB\-bd\fP option is combined with the \fB\-q\fP<\fItime\fP> option, to specify
115that the daemon should also initiate periodic queue runs.
116.sp
117The \fB\-bd\fP option can be used only by an admin user. If either of the \fB\-d\fP
118(debugging) or \fB\-v\fP (verifying) options are set, the daemon does not
119disconnect from the controlling terminal. When running this way, it can be
120stopped by pressing ctrl\-C.
121.sp
122By default, Exim listens for incoming connections to the standard SMTP port on
123all the host's running interfaces. However, it is possible to listen on other
124ports, on multiple ports, and only on specific interfaces.
125.sp
126When a listening daemon
127is started without the use of \fB\-oX\fP (that is, without overriding the normal
128configuration), it writes its process id to a file called exim\-daemon.pid
129in Exim's spool directory. This location can be overridden by setting
130PID_FILE_PATH in Local/Makefile. The file is written while Exim is still
131running as root.
132.sp
133When \fB\-oX\fP is used on the command line to start a listening daemon, the
134process id is not written to the normal pid file path. However, \fB\-oP\fP can be
135used to specify a path on the command line if a pid file is required.
136.sp
137The SIGHUP signal
138can be used to cause the daemon to re\-execute itself. This should be done
139whenever Exim's configuration file, or any file that is incorporated into it by
140means of the \fB.include\fP facility, is changed, and also whenever a new version
141of Exim is installed. It is not necessary to do this when other files that are
142referenced from the configuration (for example, alias files) are changed,
143because these are reread each time they are used.
144.TP 10
145\fB\-bdf\fP
146This option has the same effect as \fB\-bd\fP except that it never disconnects
147from the controlling terminal, even when no debugging is specified.
148.TP 10
149\fB\-be\fP
150Run Exim in expansion testing mode. Exim discards its root privilege, to
151prevent ordinary users from using this mode to read otherwise inaccessible
152files. If no arguments are given, Exim runs interactively, prompting for lines
153of data. Otherwise, it processes each argument in turn.
154.sp
155If Exim was built with USE_READLINE=yes in Local/Makefile, it tries
156to load the \fBlibreadline\fP library dynamically whenever the \fB\-be\fP option is
157used without command line arguments. If successful, it uses the readline()
158function, which provides extensive line\-editing facilities, for reading the
159test data. A line history is supported.
160.sp
161Long expansion expressions can be split over several lines by using backslash
2ea97746 162continuations. As in Exim's runtime configuration, white space at the start of
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163continuation lines is ignored. Each argument or data line is passed through the
164string expansion mechanism, and the result is output. Variable values from the
165configuration file (for example, \fI$qualify_domain\fP) are available, but no
2ea97746 166message\-specific values (such as \fI$message_exim_id\fP) are set, because no message
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167is being processed (but see \fB\-bem\fP and \fB\-Mset\fP).
168.sp
169\fBNote\fP: If you use this mechanism to test lookups, and you change the data
170files or databases you are using, you must exit and restart Exim before trying
171the same lookup again. Otherwise, because each Exim process caches the results
172of lookups, you will just get the same result as before.
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173.sp
174Macro processing is done on lines before string\-expansion: new macros can be
175defined and macros will be expanded.
176Because macros in the config file are often used for secrets, those are only
177available to admin users.
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178.TP 10
179\fB\-bem\fP <\fIfilename\fP>
180This option operates like \fB\-be\fP except that it must be followed by the name
181of a file. For example:
182.sp
183 exim \-bem /tmp/testmessage
184.sp
185The file is read as a message (as if receiving a locally\-submitted non\-SMTP
186message) before any of the test expansions are done. Thus, message\-specific
187variables such as \fI$message_size\fP and \fI$header_from:\fP are available. However,
188no \fIReceived:\fP header is added to the message. If the \fB\-t\fP option is set,
189recipients are read from the headers in the normal way, and are shown in the
190\fI$recipients\fP variable. Note that recipients cannot be given on the command
191line, because further arguments are taken as strings to expand (just like
192\fB\-be\fP).
193.TP 10
194\fB\-bF\fP <\fIfilename\fP>
195This option is the same as \fB\-bf\fP except that it assumes that the filter being
196tested is a system filter. The additional commands that are available only in
197system filters are recognized.
198.TP 10
199\fB\-bf\fP <\fIfilename\fP>
200This option runs Exim in user filter testing mode; the file is the filter file
201to be tested, and a test message must be supplied on the standard input. If
202there are no message\-dependent tests in the filter, an empty file can be
203supplied.
204.sp
205If you want to test a system filter file, use \fB\-bF\fP instead of \fB\-bf\fP. You
206can use both \fB\-bF\fP and \fB\-bf\fP on the same command, in order to test a system
207filter and a user filter in the same run. For example:
208.sp
209 exim \-bF /system/filter \-bf /user/filter </test/message
210.sp
211This is helpful when the system filter adds header lines or sets filter
212variables that are used by the user filter.
213.sp
214If the test filter file does not begin with one of the special lines
215.sp
216 # Exim filter
217 # Sieve filter
218.sp
219it is taken to be a normal .forward file, and is tested for validity under
220that interpretation.
221.sp
222The result of an Exim command that uses \fB\-bf\fP, provided no errors are
223detected, is a list of the actions that Exim would try to take if presented
224with the message for real. More details of filter testing are given in the
225separate document entitled \fIExim's interfaces to mail filtering\fP.
226.sp
227When testing a filter file,
228the envelope sender can be set by the \fB\-f\fP option,
229or by a "From " line at the start of the test message. Various parameters
230that would normally be taken from the envelope recipient address of the message
231can be set by means of additional command line options (see the next four
232options).
233.TP 10
234\fB\-bfd\fP <\fIdomain\fP>
235This sets the domain of the recipient address when a filter file is being
236tested by means of the \fB\-bf\fP option. The default is the value of
237\fI$qualify_domain\fP.
238.TP 10
239\fB\-bfl\fP <\fIlocal part\fP>
240This sets the local part of the recipient address when a filter file is being
241tested by means of the \fB\-bf\fP option. The default is the username of the
242process that calls Exim. A local part should be specified with any prefix or
243suffix stripped, because that is how it appears to the filter when a message is
244actually being delivered.
245.TP 10
246\fB\-bfp\fP <\fIprefix\fP>
247This sets the prefix of the local part of the recipient address when a filter
248file is being tested by means of the \fB\-bf\fP option. The default is an empty
249prefix.
250.TP 10
251\fB\-bfs\fP <\fIsuffix\fP>
252This sets the suffix of the local part of the recipient address when a filter
253file is being tested by means of the \fB\-bf\fP option. The default is an empty
254suffix.
255.TP 10
256\fB\-bh\fP <\fIIP address\fP>
257This option runs a fake SMTP session as if from the given IP address, using the
258standard input and output. The IP address may include a port number at the end,
259after a full stop. For example:
260.sp
261 exim \-bh 10.9.8.7.1234
262 exim \-bh fe80::a00:20ff:fe86:a061.5678
263.sp
264When an IPv6 address is given, it is converted into canonical form. In the case
265of the second example above, the value of \fI$sender_host_address\fP after
266conversion to the canonical form is
267fe80:0000:0000:0a00:20ff:fe86:a061.5678.
268.sp
269Comments as to what is going on are written to the standard error file. These
270include lines beginning with "LOG" for anything that would have been logged.
271This facility is provided for testing configuration options for incoming
272messages, to make sure they implement the required policy. For example, you can
273test your relay controls using \fB\-bh\fP.
274.sp
275\fBWarning 1\fP:
276You can test features of the configuration that rely on ident (RFC 1413)
277information by using the \fB\-oMt\fP option. However, Exim cannot actually perform
278an ident callout when testing using \fB\-bh\fP because there is no incoming SMTP
279connection.
280.sp
281\fBWarning 2\fP: Address verification callouts
282are also skipped when testing using \fB\-bh\fP. If you want these callouts to
283occur, use \fB\-bhc\fP instead.
284.sp
285Messages supplied during the testing session are discarded, and nothing is
286written to any of the real log files. There may be pauses when DNS (and other)
287lookups are taking place, and of course these may time out. The \fB\-oMi\fP option
288can be used to specify a specific IP interface and port if this is important,
289and \fB\-oMaa\fP and \fB\-oMai\fP can be used to set parameters as if the SMTP
290session were authenticated.
291.sp
292The \fIexim_checkaccess\fP utility is a "packaged" version of \fB\-bh\fP whose
293output just states whether a given recipient address from a given host is
294acceptable or not.
295.sp
296Features such as authentication and encryption, where the client input is not
297plain text, cannot easily be tested with \fB\-bh\fP. Instead, you should use a
298specialized SMTP test program such as
299\fBswaks\fP.
300.TP 10
301\fB\-bhc\fP <\fIIP address\fP>
302This option operates in the same way as \fB\-bh\fP, except that address
303verification callouts are performed if required. This includes consulting and
304updating the callout cache database.
305.TP 10
306\fB\-bi\fP
307Sendmail interprets the \fB\-bi\fP option as a request to rebuild its alias file.
308Exim does not have the concept of a single alias file, and so it cannot mimic
309this behaviour. However, calls to /usr/lib/sendmail with the \fB\-bi\fP option
310tend to appear in various scripts such as NIS make files, so the option must be
311recognized.
312.sp
313If \fB\-bi\fP is encountered, the command specified by the \fBbi_command\fP
314configuration option is run, under the uid and gid of the caller of Exim. If
315the \fB\-oA\fP option is used, its value is passed to the command as an argument.
316The command set by \fBbi_command\fP may not contain arguments. The command can
317use the \fIexim_dbmbuild\fP utility, or some other means, to rebuild alias files
318if this is required. If the \fBbi_command\fP option is not set, calling Exim with
319\fB\-bi\fP is a no\-op.
320.TP 10
321\fB\-bI:help\fP
322We shall provide various options starting \-bI: for querying Exim for
323information. The output of many of these will be intended for machine
324consumption. This one is not. The \fB\-bI:help\fP option asks Exim for a
325synopsis of supported options beginning \-bI:. Use of any of these
326options shall cause Exim to exit after producing the requested output.
327.TP 10
328\fB\-bI:dscp\fP
329This option causes Exim to emit an alphabetically sorted list of all
330recognised DSCP names.
331.TP 10
332\fB\-bI:sieve\fP
333This option causes Exim to emit an alphabetically sorted list of all supported
334Sieve protocol extensions on stdout, one per line. This is anticipated to be
335useful for ManageSieve (RFC 5804) implementations, in providing that protocol's
336SIEVE capability response line. As the precise list may depend upon
337compile\-time build options, which this option will adapt to, this is the only
338way to guarantee a correct response.
339.TP 10
340\fB\-bm\fP
341This option runs an Exim receiving process that accepts an incoming,
342locally\-generated message on the standard input. The recipients are given as the
343command arguments (except when \fB\-t\fP is also present \- see below). Each
344argument can be a comma\-separated list of RFC 2822 addresses. This is the
345default option for selecting the overall action of an Exim call; it is assumed
346if no other conflicting option is present.
347.sp
348If any addresses in the message are unqualified (have no domain), they are
349qualified by the values of the \fBqualify_domain\fP or \fBqualify_recipient\fP
350options, as appropriate. The \fB\-bnq\fP option (see below) provides a way of
351suppressing this for special cases.
352.sp
353Policy checks on the contents of local messages can be enforced by means of
354the non\-SMTP ACL.
355.sp
356The return code is zero if the message is successfully accepted. Otherwise, the
357action is controlled by the \fB\-oe\fP\fIx\fP option setting \- see below.
358.sp
359The format
360of the message must be as defined in RFC 2822, except that, for
361compatibility with Sendmail and Smail, a line in one of the forms
362.sp
363 From sender Fri Jan 5 12:55 GMT 1997
364 From sender Fri, 5 Jan 97 12:55:01
365.sp
366(with the weekday optional, and possibly with additional text after the date)
367is permitted to appear at the start of the message. There appears to be no
368authoritative specification of the format of this line. Exim recognizes it by
369matching against the regular expression defined by the \fBuucp_from_pattern\fP
370option, which can be changed if necessary.
371.sp
372The specified sender is treated as if it were given as the argument to the
373\fB\-f\fP option, but if a \fB\-f\fP option is also present, its argument is used in
374preference to the address taken from the message. The caller of Exim must be a
375trusted user for the sender of a message to be set in this way.
376.TP 10
377\fB\-bmalware\fP <\fIfilename\fP>
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378This debugging option causes Exim to scan the given file or directory
379(depending on the used scanner interface),
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380using the malware scanning framework. The option of \fBav_scanner\fP influences
381this option, so if \fBav_scanner\fP's value is dependent upon an expansion then
382the expansion should have defaults which apply to this invocation. ACLs are
383not invoked, so if \fBav_scanner\fP references an ACL variable then that variable
384will never be populated and \fB\-bmalware\fP will fail.
385.sp
386Exim will have changed working directory before resolving the filename, so
387using fully qualified pathnames is advisable. Exim will be running as the Exim
388user when it tries to open the file, rather than as the invoking user.
389This option requires admin privileges.
390.sp
391The \fB\-bmalware\fP option will not be extended to be more generally useful,
392there are better tools for file\-scanning. This option exists to help
393administrators verify their Exim and AV scanner configuration.
394.TP 10
395\fB\-bnq\fP
396By default, Exim automatically qualifies unqualified addresses (those
397without domains) that appear in messages that are submitted locally (that
398is, not over TCP/IP). This qualification applies both to addresses in
399envelopes, and addresses in header lines. Sender addresses are qualified using
400\fBqualify_domain\fP, and recipient addresses using \fBqualify_recipient\fP (which
401defaults to the value of \fBqualify_domain\fP).
402.sp
403Sometimes, qualification is not wanted. For example, if \fB\-bS\fP (batch SMTP) is
404being used to re\-submit messages that originally came from remote hosts after
405content scanning, you probably do not want to qualify unqualified addresses in
406header lines. (Such lines will be present only if you have not enabled a header
407syntax check in the appropriate ACL.)
408.sp
409The \fB\-bnq\fP option suppresses all qualification of unqualified addresses in
410messages that originate on the local host. When this is used, unqualified
411addresses in the envelope provoke errors (causing message rejection) and
412unqualified addresses in header lines are left alone.
413.TP 10
414\fB\-bP\fP
415If this option is given with no arguments, it causes the values of all Exim's
416main configuration options to be written to the standard output. The values
417of one or more specific options can be requested by giving their names as
418arguments, for example:
419.sp
420 exim \-bP qualify_domain hold_domains
421.sp
422However, any option setting that is preceded by the word "hide" in the
423configuration file is not shown in full, except to an admin user. For other
424users, the output is as in this example:
425.sp
426 mysql_servers = <value not displayable>
427.sp
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428If \fBconfig\fP is given as an argument, the config is
429output, as it was parsed, any include file resolved, any comment removed.
430.sp
431If \fBconfig_file\fP is given as an argument, the name of the runtime
432configuration file is output. (\fBconfigure_file\fP works too, for
433backward compatibility.)
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434If a list of configuration files was supplied, the value that is output here
435is the name of the file that was actually used.
436.sp
437If the \fB\-n\fP flag is given, then for most modes of \fB\-bP\fP operation the
438name will not be output.
439.sp
440If \fBlog_file_path\fP or \fBpid_file_path\fP are given, the names of the
441directories where log files and daemon pid files are written are output,
442respectively. If these values are unset, log files are written in a
443sub\-directory of the spool directory called \fBlog\fP, and the pid file is
444written directly into the spool directory.
445.sp
446If \fB\-bP\fP is followed by a name preceded by +, for example,
447.sp
448 exim \-bP +local_domains
449.sp
450it searches for a matching named list of any type (domain, host, address, or
451local part) and outputs what it finds.
452.sp
453If one of the words \fBrouter\fP, \fBtransport\fP, or \fBauthenticator\fP is given,
454followed by the name of an appropriate driver instance, the option settings for
455that driver are output. For example:
456.sp
457 exim \-bP transport local_delivery
458.sp
459The generic driver options are output first, followed by the driver's private
460options. A list of the names of drivers of a particular type can be obtained by
461using one of the words \fBrouter_list\fP, \fBtransport_list\fP, or
462\fBauthenticator_list\fP, and a complete list of all drivers with their option
463settings can be obtained by using \fBrouters\fP, \fBtransports\fP, or
464\fBauthenticators\fP.
465.sp
188b6fee 466If \fBenvironment\fP is given as an argument, the set of environment
2ea97746 467variables is output, line by line. Using the \fB\-n\fP flag suppresses the value of the
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468variables.
469.sp
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470If invoked by an admin user, then \fBmacro\fP, \fBmacro_list\fP and \fBmacros\fP
471are available, similarly to the drivers. Because macros are sometimes used
472for storing passwords, this option is restricted.
473The output format is one item per line.
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474For the "\-bP macro <name>" form, if no such macro is found
475the exit status will be nonzero.
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476.TP 10
477\fB\-bp\fP
478This option requests a listing of the contents of the mail queue on the
479standard output. If the \fB\-bp\fP option is followed by a list of message ids,
480just those messages are listed. By default, this option can be used only by an
481admin user. However, the \fBqueue_list_requires_admin\fP option can be set false
482to allow any user to see the queue.
483.sp
2ea97746 484Each message in the queue is displayed as in the following example:
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485.sp
486 25m 2.9K 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00 <alice@wonderland.fict.example>
487 red.king@looking\-glass.fict.example
488 <other addresses>
489.sp
2ea97746 490The first line contains the length of time the message has been in the queue
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491(in this case 25 minutes), the size of the message (2.9K), the unique local
492identifier for the message, and the message sender, as contained in the
493envelope. For bounce messages, the sender address is empty, and appears as
494"<>". If the message was submitted locally by an untrusted user who overrode
495the default sender address, the user's login name is shown in parentheses
496before the sender address.
497.sp
498If the message is frozen (attempts to deliver it are suspended) then the text
499"*** frozen ***" is displayed at the end of this line.
500.sp
501The recipients of the message (taken from the envelope, not the headers) are
502displayed on subsequent lines. Those addresses to which the message has already
503been delivered are marked with the letter D. If an original address gets
504expanded into several addresses via an alias or forward file, the original is
505displayed with a D only when deliveries for all of its child addresses are
506complete.
507.TP 10
508\fB\-bpa\fP
509This option operates like \fB\-bp\fP, but in addition it shows delivered addresses
510that were generated from the original top level address(es) in each message by
511alias or forwarding operations. These addresses are flagged with "+D" instead
512of just "D".
513.TP 10
514\fB\-bpc\fP
2ea97746 515This option counts the number of messages in the queue, and writes the total
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516to the standard output. It is restricted to admin users, unless
517\fBqueue_list_requires_admin\fP is set false.
518.TP 10
519\fB\-bpr\fP
520This option operates like \fB\-bp\fP, but the output is not sorted into
521chronological order of message arrival. This can speed it up when there are
2ea97746 522lots of messages in the queue, and is particularly useful if the output is
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523going to be post\-processed in a way that doesn't need the sorting.
524.TP 10
525\fB\-bpra\fP
526This option is a combination of \fB\-bpr\fP and \fB\-bpa\fP.
527.TP 10
528\fB\-bpru\fP
529This option is a combination of \fB\-bpr\fP and \fB\-bpu\fP.
530.TP 10
531\fB\-bpu\fP
532This option operates like \fB\-bp\fP but shows only undelivered top\-level
533addresses for each message displayed. Addresses generated by aliasing or
534forwarding are not shown, unless the message was deferred after processing by a
535router with the \fBone_time\fP option set.
536.TP 10
537\fB\-brt\fP
538This option is for testing retry rules, and it must be followed by up to three
539arguments. It causes Exim to look for a retry rule that matches the values
540and to write it to the standard output. For example:
541.sp
542 exim \-brt bach.comp.mus.example
543 Retry rule: *.comp.mus.example F,2h,15m; F,4d,30m;
544.sp
545 The first
546argument, which is required, can be a complete address in the form
547\fIlocal_part@domain\fP, or it can be just a domain name. If the second argument
548contains a dot, it is interpreted as an optional second domain name; if no
549retry rule is found for the first argument, the second is tried. This ties in
550with Exim's behaviour when looking for retry rules for remote hosts \- if no
551rule is found that matches the host, one that matches the mail domain is
552sought. Finally, an argument that is the name of a specific delivery error, as
553used in setting up retry rules, can be given. For example:
554.sp
555 exim \-brt haydn.comp.mus.example quota_3d
556 Retry rule: *@haydn.comp.mus.example quota_3d F,1h,15m
557.TP 10
558\fB\-brw\fP
559This option is for testing address rewriting rules, and it must be followed by
560a single argument, consisting of either a local part without a domain, or a
561complete address with a fully qualified domain. Exim outputs how this address
562would be rewritten for each possible place it might appear.
563.TP 10
564\fB\-bS\fP
565This option is used for batched SMTP input, which is an alternative interface
566for non\-interactive local message submission. A number of messages can be
567submitted in a single run. However, despite its name, this is not really SMTP
568input. Exim reads each message's envelope from SMTP commands on the standard
569input, but generates no responses. If the caller is trusted, or
570\fBuntrusted_set_sender\fP is set, the senders in the SMTP MAIL commands are
571believed; otherwise the sender is always the caller of Exim.
572.sp
573The message itself is read from the standard input, in SMTP format (leading
574dots doubled), terminated by a line containing just a single dot. An error is
575provoked if the terminating dot is missing. A further message may then follow.
576.sp
577As for other local message submissions, the contents of incoming batch SMTP
578messages can be checked using the non\-SMTP ACL.
579Unqualified addresses are automatically qualified using \fBqualify_domain\fP and
580\fBqualify_recipient\fP, as appropriate, unless the \fB\-bnq\fP option is used.
581.sp
582Some other SMTP commands are recognized in the input. HELO and EHLO act
583as RSET; VRFY, EXPN, ETRN, and HELP act as NOOP;
584QUIT quits, ignoring the rest of the standard input.
585.sp
586If any error is encountered, reports are written to the standard output and
587error streams, and Exim gives up immediately. The return code is 0 if no error
588was detected; it is 1 if one or more messages were accepted before the error
589was detected; otherwise it is 2.
590.sp
591.TP 10
592\fB\-bs\fP
593This option causes Exim to accept one or more messages by reading SMTP commands
594on the standard input, and producing SMTP replies on the standard output. SMTP
595policy controls, as defined in ACLs are applied.
596Some user agents use this interface as a way of passing locally\-generated
597messages to the MTA.
598.sp
599In
600this usage, if the caller of Exim is trusted, or \fBuntrusted_set_sender\fP is
601set, the senders of messages are taken from the SMTP MAIL commands.
602Otherwise the content of these commands is ignored and the sender is set up as
603the calling user. Unqualified addresses are automatically qualified using
604\fBqualify_domain\fP and \fBqualify_recipient\fP, as appropriate, unless the
605\fB\-bnq\fP option is used.
606.sp
607The
608\fB\-bs\fP option is also used to run Exim from \fIinetd\fP, as an alternative to
609using a listening daemon. Exim can distinguish the two cases by checking
610whether the standard input is a TCP/IP socket. When Exim is called from
611\fIinetd\fP, the source of the mail is assumed to be remote, and the comments
612above concerning senders and qualification do not apply. In this situation,
613Exim behaves in exactly the same way as it does when receiving a message via
614the listening daemon.
615.TP 10
616\fB\-bt\fP
617This option runs Exim in address testing mode, in which each argument is taken
618as a recipient address to be tested for deliverability. The results are
619written to the standard output. If a test fails, and the caller is not an admin
620user, no details of the failure are output, because these might contain
621sensitive information such as usernames and passwords for database lookups.
622.sp
623If no arguments are given, Exim runs in an interactive manner, prompting with a
624right angle bracket for addresses to be tested.
625.sp
626Unlike the \fB\-be\fP test option, you cannot arrange for Exim to use the
627readline() function, because it is running as \fIroot\fP and there are
628security issues.
629.sp
630Each address is handled as if it were the recipient address of a message
631(compare the \fB\-bv\fP option). It is passed to the routers and the result is
632written to the standard output. However, any router that has
633\fBno_address_test\fP set is bypassed. This can make \fB\-bt\fP easier to use for
634genuine routing tests if your first router passes everything to a scanner
635program.
636.sp
637The return code is 2 if any address failed outright; it is 1 if no address
638failed outright but at least one could not be resolved for some reason. Return
639code 0 is given only when all addresses succeed.
640.sp
641\fBNote\fP: When actually delivering a message, Exim removes duplicate recipient
642addresses after routing is complete, so that only one delivery takes place.
643This does not happen when testing with \fB\-bt\fP; the full results of routing are
644always shown.
645.sp
646\fBWarning\fP: \fB\-bt\fP can only do relatively simple testing. If any of the
647routers in the configuration makes any tests on the sender address of a
648message,
649you can use the \fB\-f\fP option to set an appropriate sender when running
650\fB\-bt\fP tests. Without it, the sender is assumed to be the calling user at the
651default qualifying domain. However, if you have set up (for example) routers
652whose behaviour depends on the contents of an incoming message, you cannot test
653those conditions using \fB\-bt\fP. The \fB\-N\fP option provides a possible way of
654doing such tests.
655.TP 10
656\fB\-bV\fP
657This option causes Exim to write the current version number, compilation
658number, and compilation date of the \fIexim\fP binary to the standard output.
659It also lists the DBM library that is being used, the optional modules (such as
660specific lookup types), the drivers that are included in the binary, and the
2ea97746 661name of the runtime configuration file that is in use.
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662.sp
663As part of its operation, \fB\-bV\fP causes Exim to read and syntax check its
664configuration file. However, this is a static check only. It cannot check
665values that are to be expanded. For example, although a misspelt ACL verb is
666detected, an error in the verb's arguments is not. You cannot rely on \fB\-bV\fP
667alone to discover (for example) all the typos in the configuration; some
668realistic testing is needed. The \fB\-bh\fP and \fB\-N\fP options provide more
669dynamic testing facilities.
670.TP 10
671\fB\-bv\fP
672This option runs Exim in address verification mode, in which each argument is
673taken as a recipient address to be verified by the routers. (This does
674not involve any verification callouts). During normal operation, verification
675happens mostly as a consequence processing a \fBverify\fP condition in an ACL. If you want to test an entire ACL, possibly
676including callouts, see the \fB\-bh\fP and \fB\-bhc\fP options.
677.sp
678If verification fails, and the caller is not an admin user, no details of the
679failure are output, because these might contain sensitive information such as
680usernames and passwords for database lookups.
681.sp
682If no arguments are given, Exim runs in an interactive manner, prompting with a
683right angle bracket for addresses to be verified.
684.sp
685Unlike the \fB\-be\fP test option, you cannot arrange for Exim to use the
686readline() function, because it is running as \fIexim\fP and there are
687security issues.
688.sp
689Verification differs from address testing (the \fB\-bt\fP option) in that routers
690that have \fBno_verify\fP set are skipped, and if the address is accepted by a
691router that has \fBfail_verify\fP set, verification fails. The address is
692verified as a recipient if \fB\-bv\fP is used; to test verification for a sender
693address, \fB\-bvs\fP should be used.
694.sp
695If the \fB\-v\fP option is not set, the output consists of a single line for each
696address, stating whether it was verified or not, and giving a reason in the
697latter case. Without \fB\-v\fP, generating more than one address by redirection
698causes verification to end successfully, without considering the generated
699addresses. However, if just one address is generated, processing continues,
700and the generated address must verify successfully for the overall verification
701to succeed.
702.sp
703When \fB\-v\fP is set, more details are given of how the address has been handled,
704and in the case of address redirection, all the generated addresses are also
705considered. Verification may succeed for some and fail for others.
706.sp
707The
708return code is 2 if any address failed outright; it is 1 if no address
709failed outright but at least one could not be resolved for some reason. Return
710code 0 is given only when all addresses succeed.
711.sp
712If any of the routers in the configuration makes any tests on the sender
713address of a message, you should use the \fB\-f\fP option to set an appropriate
714sender when running \fB\-bv\fP tests. Without it, the sender is assumed to be the
715calling user at the default qualifying domain.
716.TP 10
717\fB\-bvs\fP
718This option acts like \fB\-bv\fP, but verifies the address as a sender rather
719than a recipient address. This affects any rewriting and qualification that
720might happen.
721.TP 10
722\fB\-bw\fP
723This option runs Exim as a daemon, awaiting incoming SMTP connections,
724similarly to the \fB\-bd\fP option. All port specifications on the command\-line
725and in the configuration file are ignored. Queue\-running may not be specified.
726.sp
727In this mode, Exim expects to be passed a socket as fd 0 (stdin) which is
728listening for connections. This permits the system to start up and have
729inetd (or equivalent) listen on the SMTP ports, starting an Exim daemon for
730each port only when the first connection is received.
731.sp
732If the option is given as \fB\-bw\fP<\fItime\fP> then the time is a timeout, after
733which the daemon will exit, which should cause inetd to listen once more.
734.TP 10
735\fB\-C\fP <\fIfilelist\fP>
2ea97746 736This option causes Exim to find the runtime configuration file from the given
420a0d19 737list instead of from the list specified by the CONFIGURE_FILE
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738compile\-time setting. Usually, the list will consist of just a single filename,
739but it can be a colon\-separated list of names. In this case, the first
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740file that exists is used. Failure to open an existing file stops Exim from
741proceeding any further along the list, and an error is generated.
742.sp
743When this option is used by a caller other than root, and the list is different
744from the compiled\-in list, Exim gives up its root privilege immediately, and
745runs with the real and effective uid and gid set to those of the caller.
746However, if a TRUSTED_CONFIG_LIST file is defined in Local/Makefile, that
747file contains a list of full pathnames, one per line, for configuration files
748which are trusted. Root privilege is retained for any configuration file so
749listed, as long as the caller is the Exim user (or the user specified in the
750CONFIGURE_OWNER option, if any), and as long as the configuration file is
751not writeable by inappropriate users or groups.
752.sp
753Leaving TRUSTED_CONFIG_LIST unset precludes the possibility of testing a
754configuration using \fB\-C\fP right through message reception and delivery,
755even if the caller is root. The reception works, but by that time, Exim is
756running as the Exim user, so when it re\-executes to regain privilege for the
757delivery, the use of \fB\-C\fP causes privilege to be lost. However, root can
758test reception and delivery using two separate commands (one to put a message
2ea97746 759in the queue, using \fB\-odq\fP, and another to do the delivery, using \fB\-M\fP).
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760.sp
761If ALT_CONFIG_PREFIX is defined in Local/Makefile, it specifies a
762prefix string with which any file named in a \fB\-C\fP command line option
2ea97746 763must start. In addition, the filename must not contain the sequence /../.
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764However, if the value of the \fB\-C\fP option is identical to the value of
765CONFIGURE_FILE in Local/Makefile, Exim ignores \fB\-C\fP and proceeds as
766usual. There is no default setting for ALT_CONFIG_PREFIX; when it is
2ea97746 767unset, any filename can be used with \fB\-C\fP.
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768.sp
769ALT_CONFIG_PREFIX can be used to confine alternative configuration files
770to a directory to which only root has access. This prevents someone who has
771broken into the Exim account from running a privileged Exim with an arbitrary
772configuration file.
773.sp
774The \fB\-C\fP facility is useful for ensuring that configuration files are
775syntactically correct, but cannot be used for test deliveries, unless the
776caller is privileged, or unless it is an exotic configuration that does not
777require privilege. No check is made on the owner or group of the files
778specified by this option.
779.TP 10
780\fB\-D\fP<\fImacro\fP>=<\fIvalue\fP>
781This option can be used to override macro definitions in the configuration file. However, like \fB\-C\fP, if it is used by an
782unprivileged caller, it causes Exim to give up its root privilege.
783If DISABLE_D_OPTION is defined in Local/Makefile, the use of \fB\-D\fP is
784completely disabled, and its use causes an immediate error exit.
785.sp
786If WHITELIST_D_MACROS is defined in Local/Makefile then it should be a
787colon\-separated list of macros which are considered safe and, if \fB\-D\fP only
788supplies macros from this list, and the values are acceptable, then Exim will
789not give up root privilege if the caller is root, the Exim run\-time user, or
790the CONFIGURE_OWNER, if set. This is a transition mechanism and is expected
791to be removed in the future. Acceptable values for the macros satisfy the
792regexp: ^[A\-Za\-z0\-9_/.\-]*$
793.sp
794The entire option (including equals sign if present) must all be within one
795command line item. \fB\-D\fP can be used to set the value of a macro to the empty
796string, in which case the equals sign is optional. These two commands are
797synonymous:
798.sp
799 exim \-DABC ...
800 exim \-DABC= ...
801.sp
802To include spaces in a macro definition item, quotes must be used. If you use
803quotes, spaces are permitted around the macro name and the equals sign. For
804example:
805.sp
806 exim '\-D ABC = something' ...
807.sp
808\fB\-D\fP may be repeated up to 10 times on a command line.
2ea97746 809Only macro names up to 22 letters long can be set.
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810.TP 10
811\fB\-d\fP<\fIdebug options\fP>
812This option causes debugging information to be written to the standard
813error stream. It is restricted to admin users because debugging output may show
814database queries that contain password information. Also, the details of users'
815filter files should be protected. If a non\-admin user uses \fB\-d\fP, Exim
816writes an error message to the standard error stream and exits with a non\-zero
817return code.
818.sp
819When \fB\-d\fP is used, \fB\-v\fP is assumed. If \fB\-d\fP is given on its own, a lot of
820standard debugging data is output. This can be reduced, or increased to include
821some more rarely needed information, by directly following \fB\-d\fP with a string
822made up of names preceded by plus or minus characters. These add or remove sets
823of debugging data, respectively. For example, \fB\-d+filter\fP adds filter
824debugging, whereas \fB\-d\-all+filter\fP selects only filter debugging. Note that
825no spaces are allowed in the debug setting. The available debugging categories
826are:
827.sp
828 acl ACL interpretation
829 auth authenticators
830 deliver general delivery logic
831 dns DNS lookups (see also resolver)
832 dnsbl DNS black list (aka RBL) code
833 exec arguments for execv() calls
834 expand detailed debugging for string expansions
835 filter filter handling
836 hints_lookup hints data lookups
837 host_lookup all types of name\-to\-IP address handling
838 ident ident lookup
839 interface lists of local interfaces
840 lists matching things in lists
841 load system load checks
842 local_scan can be used by local_scan()
843 lookup general lookup code and all lookups
844 memory memory handling
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CE
845 noutf8 modifier: avoid UTF\-8 line\-drawing
846 pid modifier: add pid to debug output lines
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CE
847 process_info setting info for the process log
848 queue_run queue runs
849 receive general message reception logic
850 resolver turn on the DNS resolver's debugging output
851 retry retry handling
852 rewrite address rewriting
853 route address routing
2ea97746 854 timestamp modifier: add timestamp to debug output lines
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855 tls TLS logic
856 transport transports
857 uid changes of uid/gid and looking up uid/gid
858 verify address verification logic
859 all almost all of the above (see below), and also \fB\-v\fP
860.sp
861The all option excludes memory when used as +all, but includes it
862for \-all. The reason for this is that +all is something that people
863tend to use when generating debug output for Exim maintainers. If +memory
864is included, an awful lot of output that is very rarely of interest is
865generated, so it now has to be explicitly requested. However, \-all does
866turn everything off.
867.sp
868The resolver option produces output only if the DNS resolver was compiled
869with DEBUG enabled. This is not the case in some operating systems. Also,
870unfortunately, debugging output from the DNS resolver is written to stdout
871rather than stderr.
872.sp
873The default (\fB\-d\fP with no argument) omits expand, filter,
874interface, load, memory, pid, resolver, and timestamp.
875However, the pid selector is forced when debugging is turned on for a
876daemon, which then passes it on to any re\-executed Exims. Exim also
877automatically adds the pid to debug lines when several remote deliveries are
878run in parallel.
879.sp
880The timestamp selector causes the current time to be inserted at the start
881of all debug output lines. This can be useful when trying to track down delays
882in processing.
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883The noutf8 selector disables the use of
884UTF\-8 line\-drawing characters to group related information.
885When disabled. ascii\-art is used instead.
886Using the +all option does not set this modifier,
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CE
887.sp
888If the \fBdebug_print\fP option is set in any driver, it produces output whenever
889any debugging is selected, or if \fB\-v\fP is used.
890.TP 10
891\fB\-dd\fP<\fIdebug options\fP>
892This option behaves exactly like \fB\-d\fP except when used on a command that
893starts a daemon process. In that case, debugging is turned off for the
894subprocesses that the daemon creates. Thus, it is useful for monitoring the
895behaviour of the daemon without creating as much output as full debugging does.
896.TP 10
897\fB\-dropcr\fP
898This is an obsolete option that is now a no\-op. It used to affect the way Exim
899handled CR and LF characters in incoming messages.
900.TP 10
901\fB\-E\fP
902This option specifies that an incoming message is a locally\-generated delivery
903failure report. It is used internally by Exim when handling delivery failures
904and is not intended for external use. Its only effect is to stop Exim
905generating certain messages to the postmaster, as otherwise message cascades
906could occur in some situations. As part of the same option, a message id may
907follow the characters \fB\-E\fP. If it does, the log entry for the receipt of the
908new message contains the id, following "R=", as a cross\-reference.
909.TP 10
910\fB\-e\fP\fIx\fP
911There are a number of Sendmail options starting with \fB\-oe\fP which seem to be
912called by various programs without the leading \fBo\fP in the option. For
913example, the \fBvacation\fP program uses \fB\-eq\fP. Exim treats all options of the
914form \fB\-e\fP\fIx\fP as synonymous with the corresponding \fB\-oe\fP\fIx\fP options.
915.TP 10
916\fB\-F\fP <\fIstring\fP>
917This option sets the sender's full name for use when a locally\-generated
918message is being accepted. In the absence of this option, the user's \fIgecos\fP
919entry from the password data is used. As users are generally permitted to alter
920their \fIgecos\fP entries, no security considerations are involved. White space
921between \fB\-F\fP and the <\fIstring\fP> is optional.
922.TP 10
923\fB\-f\fP <\fIaddress\fP>
924This option sets the address of the envelope sender of a locally\-generated
925message (also known as the return path). The option can normally be used only
926by a trusted user, but \fBuntrusted_set_sender\fP can be set to allow untrusted
927users to use it.
928.sp
929Processes running as root or the Exim user are always trusted. Other
930trusted users are defined by the \fBtrusted_users\fP or \fBtrusted_groups\fP
931options. In the absence of \fB\-f\fP, or if the caller is not trusted, the sender
932of a local message is set to the caller's login name at the default qualify
933domain.
934.sp
935There is one exception to the restriction on the use of \fB\-f\fP: an empty sender
936can be specified by any user, trusted or not, to create a message that can
937never provoke a bounce. An empty sender can be specified either as an empty
938string, or as a pair of angle brackets with nothing between them, as in these
939examples of shell commands:
940.sp
941 exim \-f '<>' user@domain
942 exim \-f "" user@domain
943.sp
944In addition, the use of \fB\-f\fP is not restricted when testing a filter file
945with \fB\-bf\fP or when testing or verifying addresses using the \fB\-bt\fP or
946\fB\-bv\fP options.
947.sp
948Allowing untrusted users to change the sender address does not of itself make
949it possible to send anonymous mail. Exim still checks that the \fIFrom:\fP header
950refers to the local user, and if it does not, it adds a \fISender:\fP header,
951though this can be overridden by setting \fBno_local_from_check\fP.
952.sp
953White
954space between \fB\-f\fP and the <\fIaddress\fP> is optional (that is, they can be
955given as two arguments or one combined argument). The sender of a
956locally\-generated message can also be set (when permitted) by an initial
957"From " line in the message \- see the description of \fB\-bm\fP above \- but
958if \fB\-f\fP is also present, it overrides "From ".
959.TP 10
960\fB\-G\fP
961This option is equivalent to an ACL applying:
962.sp
963 control = suppress_local_fixups
964.sp
965for every message received. Note that Sendmail will complain about such
966bad formatting, where Exim silently just does not fix it up. This may change
967in future.
968.sp
969As this affects audit information, the caller must be a trusted user to use
970this option.
971.TP 10
972\fB\-h\fP <\fInumber\fP>
973This option is accepted for compatibility with Sendmail, but has no effect. (In
974Sendmail it overrides the "hop count" obtained by counting \fIReceived:\fP
975headers.)
976.TP 10
977\fB\-i\fP
978This option, which has the same effect as \fB\-oi\fP, specifies that a dot on a
979line by itself should not terminate an incoming, non\-SMTP message. I can find
980no documentation for this option in Solaris 2.4 Sendmail, but the \fImailx\fP
981command in Solaris 2.4 uses it. See also \fB\-ti\fP.
982.TP 10
983\fB\-L\fP <\fItag\fP>
984This option is equivalent to setting \fBsyslog_processname\fP in the config
985file and setting \fBlog_file_path\fP to syslog.
986Its use is restricted to administrators. The configuration file has to be
987read and parsed, to determine access rights, before this is set and takes
988effect, so early configuration file errors will not honour this flag.
989.sp
990The tag should not be longer than 32 characters.
991.TP 10
992\fB\-M\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
993This option requests Exim to run a delivery attempt on each message in turn. If
994any of the messages are frozen, they are automatically thawed before the
995delivery attempt. The settings of \fBqueue_domains\fP, \fBqueue_smtp_domains\fP,
996and \fBhold_domains\fP are ignored.
997.sp
998Retry
999hints for any of the addresses are overridden \- Exim tries to deliver even if
1000the normal retry time has not yet been reached. This option requires the caller
1001to be an admin user. However, there is an option called \fBprod_requires_admin\fP
1002which can be set false to relax this restriction (and also the same requirement
1003for the \fB\-q\fP, \fB\-R\fP, and \fB\-S\fP options).
1004.sp
1005The deliveries happen synchronously, that is, the original Exim process does
1006not terminate until all the delivery attempts have finished. No output is
1007produced unless there is a serious error. If you want to see what is happening,
1008use the \fB\-v\fP option as well, or inspect Exim's main log.
1009.TP 10
1010\fB\-Mar\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fIaddress\fP> <\fIaddress\fP> ...
1011This option requests Exim to add the addresses to the list of recipients of the
1012message ("ar" for "add recipients"). The first argument must be a message
1013id, and the remaining ones must be email addresses. However, if the message is
1014active (in the middle of a delivery attempt), it is not altered. This option
1015can be used only by an admin user.
1016.TP 10
1017\fB\-MC\fP <\fItransport\fP> <\fIhostname\fP> <\fIsequence number\fP> <\fImessage id\fP>
1018This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1019by Exim to invoke another instance of itself to deliver a waiting message using
1020an existing SMTP connection, which is passed as the standard input. This must be the final option, and the caller
1021must be root or the Exim user in order to use it.
1022.TP 10
1023\fB\-MCA\fP
1024This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1025by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option. It signifies that the
1026connection to the remote host has been authenticated.
1027.TP 10
2ea97746
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1028\fB\-MCD\fP
1029This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1030by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option. It signifies that the
1031remote host supports the ESMTP DSN extension.
1032.TP 10
1033\fB\-MCG\fP <\fIqueue name\fP>
1034This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1035by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option. It signifies that an
1036alternate queue is used, named by the following argument.
1037.TP 10
1038\fB\-MCK\fP
1039This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1040by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option. It signifies that a
1041remote host supports the ESMTP CHUNKING extension.
1042.TP 10
420a0d19
CE
1043\fB\-MCP\fP
1044This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1045by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option. It signifies that the server to
1046which Exim is connected supports pipelining.
1047.TP 10
1048\fB\-MCQ\fP <\fIprocess id\fP> <\fIpipe fd\fP>
1049This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1050by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option when the original delivery was
1051started by a queue runner. It passes on the process id of the queue runner,
1052together with the file descriptor number of an open pipe. Closure of the pipe
1053signals the final completion of the sequence of processes that are passing
1054messages through the same SMTP connection.
1055.TP 10
1056\fB\-MCS\fP
1057This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1058by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option, and passes on the fact that the
1059SMTP SIZE option should be used on messages delivered down the existing
1060connection.
1061.TP 10
1062\fB\-MCT\fP
1063This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1064by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option, and passes on the fact that the
1065host to which Exim is connected supports TLS encryption.
1066.TP 10
2ea97746
CE
1067\fB\-MCt\fP <\fIIP address\fP> <\fIport\fP> <\fIcipher\fP>
1068This option is not intended for use by external callers. It is used internally
1069by Exim in conjunction with the \fB\-MC\fP option, and passes on the fact that the
1070connection is being proxied by a parent process for handling TLS encryption.
1071The arguments give the local address and port being proxied, and the TLS cipher.
1072.TP 10
420a0d19 1073\fB\-Mc\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
2ea97746 1074This option requests Exim to run a delivery attempt on each message, in turn,
420a0d19
CE
1075but unlike the \fB\-M\fP option, it does check for retry hints, and respects any
1076that are found. This option is not very useful to external callers. It is
1077provided mainly for internal use by Exim when it needs to re\-invoke itself in
1078order to regain root privilege for a delivery.
1079However, \fB\-Mc\fP can be useful when testing, in order to run a delivery that
1080respects retry times and other options such as \fBhold_domains\fP that are
1081overridden when \fB\-M\fP is used. Such a delivery does not count as a queue run.
1082If you want to run a specific delivery as if in a queue run, you should use
1083\fB\-q\fP with a message id argument. A distinction between queue run deliveries
1084and other deliveries is made in one or two places.
1085.TP 10
1086\fB\-Mes\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fIaddress\fP>
1087This option requests Exim to change the sender address in the message to the
1088given address, which must be a fully qualified address or "<>" ("es" for
1089"edit sender"). There must be exactly two arguments. The first argument must
1090be a message id, and the second one an email address. However, if the message
1091is active (in the middle of a delivery attempt), its status is not altered.
1092This option can be used only by an admin user.
1093.TP 10
1094\fB\-Mf\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1095This option requests Exim to mark each listed message as "frozen". This
1096prevents any delivery attempts taking place until the message is "thawed",
1097either manually or as a result of the \fBauto_thaw\fP configuration option.
1098However, if any of the messages are active (in the middle of a delivery
1099attempt), their status is not altered. This option can be used only by an admin
1100user.
1101.TP 10
1102\fB\-Mg\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1103This option requests Exim to give up trying to deliver the listed messages,
1104including any that are frozen. However, if any of the messages are active,
1105their status is not altered. For non\-bounce messages, a delivery error message
1106is sent to the sender, containing the text "cancelled by administrator".
1107Bounce messages are just discarded. This option can be used only by an admin
1108user.
1109.TP 10
1110\fB\-Mmad\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1111This option requests Exim to mark all the recipient addresses in the messages
1112as already delivered ("mad" for "mark all delivered"). However, if any
1113message is active (in the middle of a delivery attempt), its status is not
1114altered. This option can be used only by an admin user.
1115.TP 10
1116\fB\-Mmd\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fIaddress\fP> <\fIaddress\fP> ...
1117This option requests Exim to mark the given addresses as already delivered
1118("md" for "mark delivered"). The first argument must be a message id, and
1119the remaining ones must be email addresses. These are matched to recipient
1120addresses in the message in a case\-sensitive manner. If the message is active
1121(in the middle of a delivery attempt), its status is not altered. This option
1122can be used only by an admin user.
1123.TP 10
1124\fB\-Mrm\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1125This option requests Exim to remove the given messages from the queue. No
1126bounce messages are sent; each message is simply forgotten. However, if any of
1127the messages are active, their status is not altered. This option can be used
1128only by an admin user or by the user who originally caused the message to be
2ea97746 1129placed in the queue.
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CE
1130.TP 10
1131\fB\-Mset\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1132This option is useful only in conjunction with \fB\-be\fP (that is, when testing
1133string expansions). Exim loads the given message from its spool before doing
1134the test expansions, thus setting message\-specific variables such as
1135\fI$message_size\fP and the header variables. The \fI$recipients\fP variable is made
1136available. This feature is provided to make it easier to test expansions that
1137make use of these variables. However, this option can be used only by an admin
1138user. See also \fB\-bem\fP.
1139.TP 10
1140\fB\-Mt\fP <\fImessage id\fP> <\fImessage id\fP> ...
1141This option requests Exim to "thaw" any of the listed messages that are
1142"frozen", so that delivery attempts can resume. However, if any of the
1143messages are active, their status is not altered. This option can be used only
1144by an admin user.
1145.TP 10
1146\fB\-Mvb\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1147This option causes the contents of the message body (\-D) spool file to be
1148written to the standard output. This option can be used only by an admin user.
1149.TP 10
1150\fB\-Mvc\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1151This option causes a copy of the complete message (header lines plus body) to
1152be written to the standard output in RFC 2822 format. This option can be used
1153only by an admin user.
1154.TP 10
1155\fB\-Mvh\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1156This option causes the contents of the message headers (\-H) spool file to be
1157written to the standard output. This option can be used only by an admin user.
1158.TP 10
1159\fB\-Mvl\fP <\fImessage id\fP>
1160This option causes the contents of the message log spool file to be written to
1161the standard output. This option can be used only by an admin user.
1162.TP 10
1163\fB\-m\fP
1164This is apparently a synonym for \fB\-om\fP that is accepted by Sendmail, so Exim
1165treats it that way too.
1166.TP 10
1167\fB\-N\fP
1168This is a debugging option that inhibits delivery of a message at the transport
1169level. It implies \fB\-v\fP. Exim goes through many of the motions of delivery \-
1170it just doesn't actually transport the message, but instead behaves as if it
1171had successfully done so. However, it does not make any updates to the retry
1172database, and the log entries for deliveries are flagged with "*>" rather
1173than "=>".
1174.sp
1175Because \fB\-N\fP discards any message to which it applies, only root or the Exim
1176user are allowed to use it with \fB\-bd\fP, \fB\-q\fP, \fB\-R\fP or \fB\-M\fP. In other
1177words, an ordinary user can use it only when supplying an incoming message to
1178which it will apply. Although transportation never fails when \fB\-N\fP is set, an
1179address may be deferred because of a configuration problem on a transport, or a
1180routing problem. Once \fB\-N\fP has been used for a delivery attempt, it sticks to
1181the message, and applies to any subsequent delivery attempts that may happen
1182for that message.
1183.TP 10
1184\fB\-n\fP
1185This option is interpreted by Sendmail to mean "no aliasing".
1186For normal modes of operation, it is ignored by Exim.
2ea97746
CE
1187When combined with \fB\-bP\fP it makes the output more terse (suppresses
1188option names, environment values and config pretty printing).
420a0d19
CE
1189.TP 10
1190\fB\-O\fP <\fIdata\fP>
1191This option is interpreted by Sendmail to mean set option. It is ignored by
1192Exim.
1193.TP 10
1194\fB\-oA\fP <\fIfile name\fP>
1195This option is used by Sendmail in conjunction with \fB\-bi\fP to specify an
2ea97746 1196alternative alias filename. Exim handles \fB\-bi\fP differently; see the
420a0d19
CE
1197description above.
1198.TP 10
1199\fB\-oB\fP <\fIn\fP>
1200This is a debugging option which limits the maximum number of messages that can
1201be delivered down one SMTP connection, overriding the value set in any smtp
1202transport. If <\fIn\fP> is omitted, the limit is set to 1.
1203.TP 10
1204\fB\-odb\fP
1205This option applies to all modes in which Exim accepts incoming messages,
1206including the listening daemon. It requests "background" delivery of such
1207messages, which means that the accepting process automatically starts a
1208delivery process for each message received, but does not wait for the delivery
1209processes to finish.
1210.sp
1211When all the messages have been received, the reception process exits,
1212leaving the delivery processes to finish in their own time. The standard output
1213and error streams are closed at the start of each delivery process.
1214This is the default action if none of the \fB\-od\fP options are present.
1215.sp
1216If one of the queueing options in the configuration file
1217(\fBqueue_only\fP or \fBqueue_only_file\fP, for example) is in effect, \fB\-odb\fP
1218overrides it if \fBqueue_only_override\fP is set true, which is the default
1219setting. If \fBqueue_only_override\fP is set false, \fB\-odb\fP has no effect.
1220.TP 10
1221\fB\-odf\fP
1222This option requests "foreground" (synchronous) delivery when Exim has
1223accepted a locally\-generated message. (For the daemon it is exactly the same as
1224\fB\-odb\fP.) A delivery process is automatically started to deliver the message,
1225and Exim waits for it to complete before proceeding.
1226.sp
1227The original Exim reception process does not finish until the delivery
1228process for the final message has ended. The standard error stream is left open
1229during deliveries.
1230.sp
1231However, like \fB\-odb\fP, this option has no effect if \fBqueue_only_override\fP is
1232false and one of the queueing options in the configuration file is in effect.
1233.sp
1234If there is a temporary delivery error during foreground delivery, the
2ea97746 1235message is left in the queue for later delivery, and the original reception
420a0d19
CE
1236process exits.
1237.TP 10
1238\fB\-odi\fP
1239This option is synonymous with \fB\-odf\fP. It is provided for compatibility with
1240Sendmail.
1241.TP 10
1242\fB\-odq\fP
1243This option applies to all modes in which Exim accepts incoming messages,
1244including the listening daemon. It specifies that the accepting process should
1245not automatically start a delivery process for each message received. Messages
2ea97746 1246are placed in the queue, and remain there until a subsequent queue runner
420a0d19
CE
1247process encounters them. There are several configuration options (such as
1248\fBqueue_only\fP) that can be used to queue incoming messages under certain
1249conditions. This option overrides all of them and also \fB\-odqs\fP. It always
1250forces queueing.
1251.TP 10
1252\fB\-odqs\fP
1253This option is a hybrid between \fB\-odb\fP/\fB\-odi\fP and \fB\-odq\fP.
1254However, like \fB\-odb\fP and \fB\-odi\fP, this option has no effect if
1255\fBqueue_only_override\fP is false and one of the queueing options in the
1256configuration file is in effect.
1257.sp
1258When \fB\-odqs\fP does operate, a delivery process is started for each incoming
1259message, in the background by default, but in the foreground if \fB\-odi\fP is
1260also present. The recipient addresses are routed, and local deliveries are done
1261in the normal way. However, if any SMTP deliveries are required, they are not
2ea97746 1262done at this time, so the message remains in the queue until a subsequent queue
420a0d19
CE
1263runner process encounters it. Because routing was done, Exim knows which
1264messages are waiting for which hosts, and so a number of messages for the same
1265host can be sent in a single SMTP connection. The \fBqueue_smtp_domains\fP
1266configuration option has the same effect for specific domains. See also the
1267\fB\-qq\fP option.
1268.TP 10
1269\fB\-oee\fP
1270If an error is detected while a non\-SMTP message is being received (for
1271example, a malformed address), the error is reported to the sender in a mail
1272message.
1273.sp
1274Provided
1275this error message is successfully sent, the Exim receiving process
1276exits with a return code of zero. If not, the return code is 2 if the problem
1277is that the original message has no recipients, or 1 for any other error.
1278This is the default \fB\-oe\fP\fIx\fP option if Exim is called as \fIrmail\fP.
1279.TP 10
1280\fB\-oem\fP
1281This is the same as \fB\-oee\fP, except that Exim always exits with a non\-zero
1282return code, whether or not the error message was successfully sent.
1283This is the default \fB\-oe\fP\fIx\fP option, unless Exim is called as \fIrmail\fP.
1284.TP 10
1285\fB\-oep\fP
1286If an error is detected while a non\-SMTP message is being received, the
1287error is reported by writing a message to the standard error file (stderr).
1288The return code is 1 for all errors.
1289.TP 10
1290\fB\-oeq\fP
1291This option is supported for compatibility with Sendmail, but has the same
1292effect as \fB\-oep\fP.
1293.TP 10
1294\fB\-oew\fP
1295This option is supported for compatibility with Sendmail, but has the same
1296effect as \fB\-oem\fP.
1297.TP 10
1298\fB\-oi\fP
1299This option, which has the same effect as \fB\-i\fP, specifies that a dot on a
1300line by itself should not terminate an incoming, non\-SMTP message. Otherwise, a
1301single dot does terminate, though Exim does no special processing for other
1302lines that start with a dot. This option is set by default if Exim is called as
1303\fIrmail\fP. See also \fB\-ti\fP.
1304.TP 10
1305\fB\-oitrue\fP
1306This option is treated as synonymous with \fB\-oi\fP.
1307.TP 10
1308\fB\-oMa\fP <\fIhost address\fP>
1309A number of options starting with \fB\-oM\fP can be used to set values associated
1310with remote hosts on locally\-submitted messages (that is, messages not received
1311over TCP/IP). These options can be used by any caller in conjunction with the
1312\fB\-bh\fP, \fB\-be\fP, \fB\-bf\fP, \fB\-bF\fP, \fB\-bt\fP, or \fB\-bv\fP testing options. In
1313other circumstances, they are ignored unless the caller is trusted.
1314.sp
1315The \fB\-oMa\fP option sets the sender host address. This may include a port
1316number at the end, after a full stop (period). For example:
1317.sp
1318 exim \-bs \-oMa 10.9.8.7.1234
1319.sp
1320An alternative syntax is to enclose the IP address in square brackets,
1321followed by a colon and the port number:
1322.sp
1323 exim \-bs \-oMa [10.9.8.7]:1234
1324.sp
1325The IP address is placed in the \fI$sender_host_address\fP variable, and the
1326port, if present, in \fI$sender_host_port\fP. If both \fB\-oMa\fP and \fB\-bh\fP
1327are present on the command line, the sender host IP address is taken from
1328whichever one is last.
1329.TP 10
1330\fB\-oMaa\fP <\fIname\fP>
1331See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMaa\fP
1332option sets the value of \fI$sender_host_authenticated\fP (the authenticator
1333name).
1334This option can be used with \fB\-bh\fP and \fB\-bs\fP to set up an
1335authenticated SMTP session without actually using the SMTP AUTH command.
1336.TP 10
1337\fB\-oMai\fP <\fIstring\fP>
1338See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMai\fP
1339option sets the value of \fI$authenticated_id\fP (the id that was authenticated).
1340This overrides the default value (the caller's login id, except with \fB\-bh\fP,
1341where there is no default) for messages from local sources.
1342.TP 10
1343\fB\-oMas\fP <\fIaddress\fP>
1344See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMas\fP
1345option sets the authenticated sender value in \fI$authenticated_sender\fP. It
1346overrides the sender address that is created from the caller's login id for
1347messages from local sources, except when \fB\-bh\fP is used, when there is no
1348default. For both \fB\-bh\fP and \fB\-bs\fP, an authenticated sender that is
1349specified on a MAIL command overrides this value.
1350.TP 10
1351\fB\-oMi\fP <\fIinterface address\fP>
1352See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMi\fP
1353option sets the IP interface address value. A port number may be included,
1354using the same syntax as for \fB\-oMa\fP. The interface address is placed in
1355\fI$received_ip_address\fP and the port number, if present, in \fI$received_port\fP.
1356.TP 10
1357\fB\-oMm\fP <\fImessage reference\fP>
1358See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMm\fP
1359option sets the message reference, e.g. message\-id, and is logged during
1360delivery. This is useful when some kind of audit trail is required to tie
1361messages together. The format of the message reference is checked and will
1362abort if the format is invalid. The option will only be accepted if exim is
1363running in trusted mode, not as any regular user.
1364.sp
1365The best example of a message reference is when Exim sends a bounce message.
1366The message reference is the message\-id of the original message for which Exim
1367is sending the bounce.
1368.TP 10
1369\fB\-oMr\fP <\fIprotocol name\fP>
1370See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMr\fP
1371option sets the received protocol value that is stored in
1372\fI$received_protocol\fP. However, it does not apply (and is ignored) when \fB\-bh\fP
1373or \fB\-bs\fP is used. For \fB\-bh\fP, the protocol is forced to one of the standard
1374SMTP protocol names. For \fB\-bs\fP, the protocol is always "local\-" followed by
1375one of those same names. For \fB\-bS\fP (batched SMTP) however, the protocol can
2ea97746 1376be set by \fB\-oMr\fP. Repeated use of this option is not supported.
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1377.TP 10
1378\fB\-oMs\fP <\fIhost name\fP>
1379See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMs\fP
1380option sets the sender host name in \fI$sender_host_name\fP. When this option is
1381present, Exim does not attempt to look up a host name from an IP address; it
1382uses the name it is given.
1383.TP 10
1384\fB\-oMt\fP <\fIident string\fP>
1385See \fB\-oMa\fP above for general remarks about the \fB\-oM\fP options. The \fB\-oMt\fP
1386option sets the sender ident value in \fI$sender_ident\fP. The default setting for
1387local callers is the login id of the calling process, except when \fB\-bh\fP is
1388used, when there is no default.
1389.TP 10
1390\fB\-om\fP
1391In Sendmail, this option means "me too", indicating that the sender of a
1392message should receive a copy of the message if the sender appears in an alias
1393expansion. Exim always does this, so the option does nothing.
1394.TP 10
1395\fB\-oo\fP
1396This option is ignored. In Sendmail it specifies "old style headers",
1397whatever that means.
1398.TP 10
1399\fB\-oP\fP <\fIpath\fP>
1400This option is useful only in conjunction with \fB\-bd\fP or \fB\-q\fP with a time
1401value. The option specifies the file to which the process id of the daemon is
1402written. When \fB\-oX\fP is used with \fB\-bd\fP, or when \fB\-q\fP with a time is used
1403without \fB\-bd\fP, this is the only way of causing Exim to write a pid file,
1404because in those cases, the normal pid file is not used.
1405.TP 10
1406\fB\-or\fP <\fItime\fP>
1407This option sets a timeout value for incoming non\-SMTP messages. If it is not
1408set, Exim will wait forever for the standard input. The value can also be set
1409by the \fBreceive_timeout\fP option.
1410.TP 10
1411\fB\-os\fP <\fItime\fP>
1412This option sets a timeout value for incoming SMTP messages. The timeout
1413applies to each SMTP command and block of data. The value can also be set by
1414the \fBsmtp_receive_timeout\fP option; it defaults to 5 minutes.
1415.TP 10
1416\fB\-ov\fP
1417This option has exactly the same effect as \fB\-v\fP.
1418.TP 10
1419\fB\-oX\fP <\fInumber or string\fP>
1420This option is relevant only when the \fB\-bd\fP (start listening daemon) option
1421is also given. It controls which ports and interfaces the daemon uses. When \fB\-oX\fP is used to start a daemon, no pid
2ea97746 1422file is written unless \fB\-oP\fP is also present to specify a pid filename.
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1423.TP 10
1424\fB\-pd\fP
1425This option applies when an embedded Perl interpreter is linked with Exim. It overrides the setting of the \fBperl_at_start\fP
1426option, forcing the starting of the interpreter to be delayed until it is
1427needed.
1428.TP 10
1429\fB\-ps\fP
1430This option applies when an embedded Perl interpreter is linked with Exim. It overrides the setting of the \fBperl_at_start\fP
1431option, forcing the starting of the interpreter to occur as soon as Exim is
1432started.
1433.TP 10
1434\fB\-p\fP<\fIrval\fP>:<\fIsval\fP>
1435For compatibility with Sendmail, this option is equivalent to
1436.sp
1437 \-oMr <\fIrval\fP> \-oMs <\fIsval\fP>
1438.sp
1439It sets the incoming protocol and host name (for trusted callers). The
1440host name and its colon can be omitted when only the protocol is to be set.
1441Note the Exim already has two private options, \fB\-pd\fP and \fB\-ps\fP, that refer
1442to embedded Perl. It is therefore impossible to set a protocol value of d
1443or s using this option (but that does not seem a real limitation).
2ea97746 1444Repeated use of this option is not supported.
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1445.TP 10
1446\fB\-q\fP
1447This option is normally restricted to admin users. However, there is a
1448configuration option called \fBprod_requires_admin\fP which can be set false to
1449relax this restriction (and also the same requirement for the \fB\-M\fP, \fB\-R\fP,
1450and \fB\-S\fP options).
1451.sp
2ea97746
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1452If other commandline options do not specify an action,
1453the \fB\-q\fP option starts one queue runner process. This scans the queue of
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1454waiting messages, and runs a delivery process for each one in turn. It waits
1455for each delivery process to finish before starting the next one. A delivery
1456process may not actually do any deliveries if the retry times for the addresses
1457have not been reached. Use \fB\-qf\fP (see below) if you want to override this.
1458.sp
1459If
1460the delivery process spawns other processes to deliver other messages down
1461passed SMTP connections, the queue runner waits for these to finish before
1462proceeding.
1463.sp
1464When all the queued messages have been considered, the original queue runner
1465process terminates. In other words, a single pass is made over the waiting
1466mail, one message at a time. Use \fB\-q\fP with a time (see below) if you want
1467this to be repeated periodically.
1468.sp
1469Exim processes the waiting messages in an unpredictable order. It isn't very
1470random, but it is likely to be different each time, which is all that matters.
1471If one particular message screws up a remote MTA, other messages to the same
1472MTA have a chance of getting through if they get tried first.
1473.sp
1474It is possible to cause the messages to be processed in lexical message id
1475order, which is essentially the order in which they arrived, by setting the
1476\fBqueue_run_in_order\fP option, but this is not recommended for normal use.
1477.TP 10
1478\fB\-q\fP<\fIqflags\fP>
1479The \fB\-q\fP option may be followed by one or more flag letters that change its
1480behaviour. They are all optional, but if more than one is present, they must
1481appear in the correct order. Each flag is described in a separate item below.
1482.TP 10
1483\fB\-qq...\fP
1484An option starting with \fB\-qq\fP requests a two\-stage queue run. In the first
1485stage, the queue is scanned as if the \fBqueue_smtp_domains\fP option matched
1486every domain. Addresses are routed, local deliveries happen, but no remote
1487transports are run.
1488.sp
1489The hints database that remembers which messages are waiting for specific hosts
1490is updated, as if delivery to those hosts had been deferred. After this is
1491complete, a second, normal queue scan happens, with routing and delivery taking
1492place as normal. Messages that are routed to the same host should mostly be
1493delivered down a single SMTP
1494connection because of the hints that were set up during the first queue scan.
1495This option may be useful for hosts that are connected to the Internet
1496intermittently.
1497.TP 10
1498\fB\-q[q]i...\fP
1499If the \fIi\fP flag is present, the queue runner runs delivery processes only for
1500those messages that haven't previously been tried. (\fIi\fP stands for "initial
2ea97746 1501delivery".) This can be helpful if you are putting messages in the queue using
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1502\fB\-odq\fP and want a queue runner just to process the new messages.
1503.TP 10
1504\fB\-q[q][i]f...\fP
1505If one \fIf\fP flag is present, a delivery attempt is forced for each non\-frozen
1506message, whereas without \fIf\fP only those non\-frozen addresses that have passed
1507their retry times are tried.
1508.TP 10
1509\fB\-q[q][i]ff...\fP
1510If \fIff\fP is present, a delivery attempt is forced for every message, whether
1511frozen or not.
1512.TP 10
1513\fB\-q[q][i][f[f]]l\fP
1514The \fIl\fP (the letter "ell") flag specifies that only local deliveries are to
2ea97746 1515be done. If a message requires any remote deliveries, it remains in the queue
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1516for later delivery.
1517.TP 10
2ea97746
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1518\fB\-q[q][i][f[f]][l][G<name>[/<time>]]]\fP
1519If the \fIG\fP flag and a name is present, the queue runner operates on the
1520queue with the given name rather than the default queue.
1521The name should not contain a \fI/\fP character.
1522For a periodic queue run (see below)
1523append to the name a slash and a time value.
1524.sp
1525If other commandline options specify an action, a \fI\-qG<name>\fP option
1526will specify a queue to operate on.
1527For example:
1528.sp
1529 exim \-bp \-qGquarantine
1530 mailq \-qGquarantine
1531 exim \-qGoffpeak \-Rf @special.domain.example
1532.TP 10
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CE
1533\fB\-q\fP<\fIqflags\fP> <\fIstart id\fP> <\fIend id\fP>
1534When scanning the queue, Exim can be made to skip over messages whose ids are
1535lexically less than a given value by following the \fB\-q\fP option with a
1536starting message id. For example:
1537.sp
1538 exim \-q 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00
1539.sp
1540Messages that arrived earlier than 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00 are not inspected. If a
1541second message id is given, messages whose ids are lexically greater than it
1542are also skipped. If the same id is given twice, for example,
1543.sp
1544 exim \-q 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00 0t5C6f\-0000c8\-00
1545.sp
1546just one delivery process is started, for that message. This differs from
1547\fB\-M\fP in that retry data is respected, and it also differs from \fB\-Mc\fP in
1548that it counts as a delivery from a queue run. Note that the selection
1549mechanism does not affect the order in which the messages are scanned. There
1550are also other ways of selecting specific sets of messages for delivery in a
1551queue run \- see \fB\-R\fP and \fB\-S\fP.
1552.TP 10
1553\fB\-q\fP<\fIqflags\fP><\fItime\fP>
1554When a time value is present, the \fB\-q\fP option causes Exim to run as a daemon,
1555starting a queue runner process at intervals specified by the given time value. This form of the
1556\fB\-q\fP option is commonly combined with the \fB\-bd\fP option, in which case a
1557single daemon process handles both functions. A common way of starting up a
1558combined daemon at system boot time is to use a command such as
1559.sp
1560 /usr/exim/bin/exim \-bd \-q30m
1561.sp
1562Such a daemon listens for incoming SMTP calls, and also starts a queue runner
1563process every 30 minutes.
1564.sp
1565When a daemon is started by \fB\-q\fP with a time value, but without \fB\-bd\fP, no
1566pid file is written unless one is explicitly requested by the \fB\-oP\fP option.
1567.TP 10
1568\fB\-qR\fP<\fIrsflags\fP> <\fIstring\fP>
1569This option is synonymous with \fB\-R\fP. It is provided for Sendmail
1570compatibility.
1571.TP 10
1572\fB\-qS\fP<\fIrsflags\fP> <\fIstring\fP>
1573This option is synonymous with \fB\-S\fP.
1574.TP 10
1575\fB\-R\fP<\fIrsflags\fP> <\fIstring\fP>
1576The <\fIrsflags\fP> may be empty, in which case the white space before the string
1577is optional, unless the string is \fIf\fP, \fIff\fP, \fIr\fP, \fIrf\fP, or \fIrff\fP,
1578which are the possible values for <\fIrsflags\fP>. White space is required if
1579<\fIrsflags\fP> is not empty.
1580.sp
1581This option is similar to \fB\-q\fP with no time value, that is, it causes Exim to
1582perform a single queue run, except that, when scanning the messages on the
1583queue, Exim processes only those that have at least one undelivered recipient
1584address containing the given string, which is checked in a case\-independent
1585way. If the <\fIrsflags\fP> start with \fIr\fP, <\fIstring\fP> is interpreted as a
1586regular expression; otherwise it is a literal string.
1587.sp
1588If you want to do periodic queue runs for messages with specific recipients,
1589you can combine \fB\-R\fP with \fB\-q\fP and a time value. For example:
1590.sp
1591 exim \-q25m \-R @special.domain.example
1592.sp
1593This example does a queue run for messages with recipients in the given domain
1594every 25 minutes. Any additional flags that are specified with \fB\-q\fP are
1595applied to each queue run.
1596.sp
1597Once a message is selected for delivery by this mechanism, all its addresses
1598are processed. For the first selected message, Exim overrides any retry
1599information and forces a delivery attempt for each undelivered address. This
1600means that if delivery of any address in the first message is successful, any
1601existing retry information is deleted, and so delivery attempts for that
1602address in subsequently selected messages (which are processed without forcing)
1603will run. However, if delivery of any address does not succeed, the retry
1604information is updated, and in subsequently selected messages, the failing
1605address will be skipped.
1606.sp
1607If the <\fIrsflags\fP> contain \fIf\fP or \fIff\fP, the delivery forcing applies to
1608all selected messages, not just the first; frozen messages are included when
1609\fIff\fP is present.
1610.sp
1611The \fB\-R\fP option makes it straightforward to initiate delivery of all messages
1612to a given domain after a host has been down for some time. When the SMTP
1613command ETRN is accepted by its ACL, its default
1614effect is to run Exim with the \fB\-R\fP option, but it can be configured to run
1615an arbitrary command instead.
1616.TP 10
1617\fB\-r\fP
1618This is a documented (for Sendmail) obsolete alternative name for \fB\-f\fP.
1619.TP 10
1620\fB\-S\fP<\fIrsflags\fP> <\fIstring\fP>
1621This option acts like \fB\-R\fP except that it checks the string against each
1622message's sender instead of against the recipients. If \fB\-R\fP is also set, both
1623conditions must be met for a message to be selected. If either of the options
1624has \fIf\fP or \fIff\fP in its flags, the associated action is taken.
1625.TP 10
1626\fB\-Tqt\fP <\fItimes\fP>
1627This is an option that is exclusively for use by the Exim testing suite. It is not
1628recognized when Exim is run normally. It allows for the setting up of explicit
1629"queue times" so that various warning/retry features can be tested.
1630.TP 10
1631\fB\-t\fP
1632When Exim is receiving a locally\-generated, non\-SMTP message on its standard
1633input, the \fB\-t\fP option causes the recipients of the message to be obtained
1634from the \fITo:\fP, \fICc:\fP, and \fIBcc:\fP header lines in the message instead of
1635from the command arguments. The addresses are extracted before any rewriting
1636takes place and the \fIBcc:\fP header line, if present, is then removed.
1637.sp
1638If the command has any arguments, they specify addresses to which the message
1639is \fInot\fP to be delivered. That is, the argument addresses are removed from
1640the recipients list obtained from the headers. This is compatible with Smail 3
1641and in accordance with the documented behaviour of several versions of
1642Sendmail, as described in man pages on a number of operating systems (e.g.
1643Solaris 8, IRIX 6.5, HP\-UX 11). However, some versions of Sendmail \fIadd\fP
1644argument addresses to those obtained from the headers, and the O'Reilly
1645Sendmail book documents it that way. Exim can be made to add argument addresses
1646instead of subtracting them by setting the option
1647\fBextract_addresses_remove_arguments\fP false.
1648.sp
1649If there are any \fBResent\-\fP header lines in the message, Exim extracts
1650recipients from all \fIResent\-To:\fP, \fIResent\-Cc:\fP, and \fIResent\-Bcc:\fP header
1651lines instead of from \fITo:\fP, \fICc:\fP, and \fIBcc:\fP. This is for compatibility
1652with Sendmail and other MTAs. (Prior to release 4.20, Exim gave an error if
1653\fB\-t\fP was used in conjunction with \fBResent\-\fP header lines.)
1654.sp
1655RFC 2822 talks about different sets of \fBResent\-\fP header lines (for when a
1656message is resent several times). The RFC also specifies that they should be
1657added at the front of the message, and separated by \fIReceived:\fP lines. It is
1658not at all clear how \fB\-t\fP should operate in the present of multiple sets,
1659nor indeed exactly what constitutes a "set".
1660In practice, it seems that MUAs do not follow the RFC. The \fBResent\-\fP lines
1661are often added at the end of the header, and if a message is resent more than
1662once, it is common for the original set of \fBResent\-\fP headers to be renamed as
1663\fBX\-Resent\-\fP when a new set is added. This removes any possible ambiguity.
1664.TP 10
1665\fB\-ti\fP
1666This option is exactly equivalent to \fB\-t\fP \fB\-i\fP. It is provided for
1667compatibility with Sendmail.
1668.TP 10
1669\fB\-tls\-on\-connect\fP
1670This option is available when Exim is compiled with TLS support. It forces all
1671incoming SMTP connections to behave as if the incoming port is listed in the
1672\fBtls_on_connect_ports\fP option.
1673.TP 10
1674\fB\-U\fP
1675Sendmail uses this option for "initial message submission", and its
1676documentation states that in future releases, it may complain about
1677syntactically invalid messages rather than fixing them when this flag is not
1678set. Exim ignores this option.
1679.TP 10
1680\fB\-v\fP
1681This option causes Exim to write information to the standard error stream,
1682describing what it is doing. In particular, it shows the log lines for
1683receiving and delivering a message, and if an SMTP connection is made, the SMTP
1684dialogue is shown. Some of the log lines shown may not actually be written to
1685the log if the setting of \fBlog_selector\fP discards them. Any relevant
1686selectors are shown with each log line. If none are shown, the logging is
1687unconditional.
1688.TP 10
1689\fB\-x\fP
1690AIX uses \fB\-x\fP for a private purpose ("mail from a local mail program has
1691National Language Support extended characters in the body of the mail item").
1692It sets \fB\-x\fP when calling the MTA from its \fBmail\fP command. Exim ignores
1693this option.
1694.TP 10
1695\fB\-X\fP <\fIlogfile\fP>
1696This option is interpreted by Sendmail to cause debug information to be sent
1697to the named file. It is ignored by Exim.
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1698.TP 10
1699\fB\-z\fP <\fIlog\-line\fP>
1700This option writes its argument to Exim's logfile.
1701Use is restricted to administrators; the intent is for operational notes.
1702Quotes should be used to maintain a multi\-word item as a single argument,
1703under most shells.
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1704.sp
1705.
1706.SH "SEE ALSO"
1707.rs
1708.sp
1709The full Exim specification, the Exim book, and the Exim wiki.